The article is a philosophical reflection on the place a human being occupies in the civilized world, as well as in the Great City. The author systematizes the views concerning this issue and contrasts them with the theses presented by Joachim Ritter in an article entitled "Great City." While the author herself believes that city life does not pose any real danger to man, Ritter argues that individualist conceptions are an attempt to escape from reality, while philosophical thought is the outcome of discovering the truth about reality. The article addresses the following questions: "Are civilization and the Great City suitable for man?" "Is city life likely to lead to total uniformity, as Jaspers feared?" "How could philosophical thought undergo such considerable reevaluation since the times of Socrates until today?" "Can human nature be defi ned as Heidegger’s being, a separate module of the collective being?" The author claims that the civilizational crisis of modern times is not a crisis of goals, but it is rather the effect of the inadaptability of human behavior to the constantly changing reality.